1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to inflatable boats and more particularly to an automatic inflation system for inflatable boats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous examples of inflatable boats are known in the art. Such inflatable boats must, by law, be formed from at least two separate inflatable chambers which typically form the side of the boat.
An example of a collapsible inflatable boat is shown in Design Pat. No. 151,467. In this patent, the boat is formed from three separate inflatable chambers each of which has its own valve member for inflating and deflating the chambers. In such a boat, it is necessary to inflate and/or deflate each chamber separately. This is a tedious process which requires a great deal of time and effort since the chamber must be inflated, the pressure checked, further inflation and/or deflation carried out and the process must be repeated in order to arrive at the appropriate pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,040,616 (Mapes) discloses an inflatable flotation device which is formed from a plurality of inflatable chambers. Each inflatable chamber has its own outlet passage for inflation and deflation. The inflatable boat is provided with a pressure medium storage container which is connected to a distributing manifold which distributes the pressure medium from the container to the outlet passages of the respective inflatable chambers. This system provides a one-time filling of the two chambers of the boat using the entire container of pressure medium.
The system of U.S. Pat. No. 2,040,616 suffers from the disadvantages that it can only be used if the inflatable compartments are entirely empty since the only way of controlling the amount of pressure in the inflatable compartments is by choosing a pressure medium container of the proper size. No pressure gauge or other means for partially inflating the chambers is provided. In addition, the entire container of pressure medium is used to fill the inflatable chambers and thus this device can only be used for a one time filling then the pressure medium container has to be replaced. Finally, there is no provision for topping off the inflatable chambers should they become partially deflated as a result of any number of factors such as temperature changes, striking an object or pounding on the water.
It is also known in the art from, for example, the Zodiac TMF 470, to provide an inflatable boat having a plurality of inflatable compartments which are connected with one another by virtue of intercommunicating valves which can be opened to connect all of the compartments or closed to isolate each compartment from the others. Such inflatable boats are typically inflated by opening all of the intercommunicating valves and inflating all of the compartments simultaneously via one valve. This ensures a constant pressure throughout the inflatable compartments. However, the disadvantage of this method is that inflation must be carried out without knowledge of the pressure and/or inflation must be stopped in order to check the pressure during inflation. This is a tedious, cumbersome process which can result in over or under inflation of the boat if not done properly. Further, because this is a tedious process there is a possibility that it may be postponed or neglected by the owner of the boat thereby reducing the service life of the boat.
Accordingly, there is need in the art for an automatically inflatable boat which can be used to easily inflate the boat without undue effort on the part of the owner.
There is a further need in the art for an inflatable boat with an automatic inflation system which can be used to easily top-off the pressure in the inflatable boat prior to each used.
There is a further need in the art for an inflatable boat with an automatic inflation system which can also be used to deflate the boat to thereby make it much simpler to deflate the boat for storage and reinflate the boat for use.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an inflatable boat with an automatic inflation system.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the summary and detailed description which follow.